About Mount Hope Lutheran School

Mount Hope Lutheran School

Mount Hope Lutheran School is a vital part of the ministry of Mount Hope Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Congregations within the LCMS operate 1,200 early childhood centers and preschools serving 87,000 children, 800 elementary schools serving more than 113,000 students, and 130 domestic and 3 international Lutheran high schools serving more than 17,000 students.

Mount Hope Lutheran Church began as a mission church in Casper, Wyoming in 1962. The church building was completed in 1964 and an educational wing was added in 1982. A preschool for three and four-year olds began the following year and has continued to the present. In response to preschool parents asking for a kindergarten, Mount Hope agreed to open a kindergarten for the 1996-1997 school year. Mrs. Betty Garwood began with two students in 1996. The congregation decided to offer kindergarten one more year and then to begin to adding grades.

After careful study, Mount Hope decided to adopt a classical philosophy of education in 1998. Curriculum development is an ongoing project. By 2004 MHLS was ready to add seventh and eighth grades. Miss Heather Judd first taught these upper grades. In 2005, Mr. Roger Hedlund began daily strings instruction for all students in grades K-8. In 2010, Mount Hope Lutheran School was accredited by the Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education.

Mount Hope Lutheran School is thankful for 20 years of experience providing classical Lutheran education for the Casper community. Presently we serve 51 students in our preschool through eighth grade. Thanks be to God for providing this mission for us and blessing it so abundantly.

Mission Statement of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

In grateful response to God’s grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments, the mission of the LCMS is to make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches, communities and the world.

Mission Statement of Mount Hope Lutheran School

It is our mission to assist parents in providing a Christ-centered, classical, Lutheran education so that they are prepared for life in their church, life in their home and community, and life everlasting. (Eph. 6:4; 2 Tim. 3:14-17, Matt. 28:18-20)

Mount Hope Lutheran School Philosophy

Mount Hope purposefully follows the centuries-old tradition of educating students in the liberal arts and Christian catechesis so that they may mature into the fullness of humanity, serve their neighbors, and love God. We base this philosophy of education upon the following texts.

Proverbs 22:6—Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Ephesians 6:4—Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Philippians 4:8-9—Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

I Peter 3:15-. . .being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

Dr. Martin Luther—“Nothing at all will help us but taking the Word of God seriously and preserving it diligently for ourselves and our posterity, especially through the maintenance of good schools and education of youth.”

Upon this foundation, we strive to recognize and teach what is true, good, and beautiful to our students. Furthermore, we receive and share with our students the Theological Virtues provided in the Scriptures:

Faith – belief in God as He reveals himself in the Scriptures.

Hope – in the promises of Christ, whose strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Love – as we are loved by Christ Jesus, we show respect, compassion, and mercy to all people.

As we follow truths that transcend time and space, we also acknowledge the wisdom of the ancients who espoused equipping children with such habits of thought, word, and deed that they may grow to:

exhibit prudence, knowing good from evil

practice justice, judging when necessary but with mercy

exercise temperance, refraining from self-indulgence and using all possessions for the good of others

and live their lives with fortitude, having the courage to pursue what is good regardless of personal cost

We agree with C.S. Lewis when he says in The Abolition of Man, “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.” And yet we remember, while we attempt to live rightly, we often fall short of the mark, and continually rely on the grace of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

We call this approach to education, “classical,” because it borrows from the ideas of the past. Such an education produced many of the world’s greatest scientists, artists, rulers, theologians, musicians, etc. It is Lutheran because we depend upon the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions for our understanding of truth. For more information about how classical education looks at Mount Hope Lutheran School, see our entry entitled “Classical Curriculum.”

School Administration

Mount Hope Lutheran School is owned and operated by Mount Hope Lutheran Church. The Board of Education is responsible to the congregation for the operation and maintenance of the school. The Board establishes all policies and guidelines regarding the administration of the school. The Headmaster, in cooperation with the faculty, is responsible for the execution of all policies and guidelines established by the Board of Education.

CCLE Accreditation

Mount Hope Lutheran School is accredited by the Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education (CCLE). Information about CCLE and the accreditation process are available at www.ccle.org.

Qualified Staff

All teachers are members of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and accept our Statement of Faith. All teachers hold a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree. The preschool teacher meets Department of Family Services requirements. Mount Hope encourages its teachers to pursue the Classical Lutheran Educator Certification from the Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education.

House System

In order to build and improve the school culture, Mount Hope implements the house system. Our intention is that this system helps improve relationships between students as well as between students and staff. We hope that it inspires students to pursue virtue and good habits such as pride in good work, initiative, generosity, kindness, teamwork, responsibility, and fortitude.

Students are divided into three houses which are named after some of our ancient church fathers: Ambrose, Athanasius, and Augustine. Each house will be led by a teacher and by a house captain. All staff will belong to a house except the headmaster. Students will remain in the same house for the entire time they attend Mount Hope.

Throughout the week, students will earn points for exemplary work and behavior. Teachers will be looking for good attitude and effort, proper school attire, friendliness towards other students, excellent school work and class participation. Students receive a sticker from a staff member to indicate that they have earned points. Captains will collect the students’ stickers in a notebook throughout the week and turn them in to the Headmaster. On Mondays, after chapel, the Headmaster will announce the total points of each house. The winning house will receive some sort of award the following week: extra recess, special treats, a uniform-free Friday afternoon, etc. The house with the most points at the end of the school year will receive a larger reward. House awards will be given weekly, quarterly and yearly.

Teachers may subtract points from a house if a student asks if he has earned a point for a certain deed. Teachers will detract points when students get yellow slips or red slips. A student who habitually loses points for his house will be removed from his house until he has earned the privilege of rejoining it. Students are expected to be proud of their houses and to support them.

The Headmaster will choose the captains. Each captain will select a person from his house to substitute for him should he miss school or need help. The captains are in charge of collecting the points from each classroom every day. They are to set a good example for the rest of the school, help with various tasks throughout the week, help the younger students in their house, and discuss ideas with Mrs. Hill. Each Tuesday, captains will have lunch together in the Headmaster’s office. Sometimes they will have special guests who will visit with them about being good leaders. Captains may be asked to step down if they do not demonstrate a positive attitude or set a good example for their house.

We are a confessional Lutheran congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Committed to teaching the truth of God’s Word, with Christ crucified for sinners at the center, our worship follows the historic liturgy of the Church. We sing the great hymns of past and present that reflect the reverence, dignity, and joy of the Christian confession.